In international schools, there is often an assumption, sometimes stated in marketing materials, that students who are not native English speakers will leave fluent, articulate and confident in the language.

English-medium education is seen as a guarantee of linguistic proficiency. But as many teachers in these settings know, exposure to English is not the same as mastery of it, and natural fluency does not simply arrive with time.

It was because of this that two years ago our school decided to examine our approach to English language teaching more closely, making oracy a more explicit part of our curriculum.

With the recent UK government curriculum and assessment review also calling for oracy to become part of the curriculum, it’s clear that this is an area all schools need to focus on. Here’s what we did.

1. Idioms and phrases

One simple change we made was to be more mindful about phrases or idioms that we might use that could leave non-native speakers confused.

Phrases like “it’s like gold dust” or “I wouldn’t touch it with a barge pole” often cause uncertainty, yet they appear everywhere: classrooms, corridors, staff meetings, podcasts and more.

As such, we decided to develop a “Word and Idiom of the Week”, displayed in every secondary classroom. Words included “assiduous”, “tetchy” and “to quibble”. Idioms included “to be as happy as Larry” and “that’s not my cup of tea”.

Staff were encouraged to model the expression and explain its meaning; students were encouraged to use it both in speech and writing. The impact was immediate.

Hearing students casually drop in “That was the best thing since sliced bread” was both amusing and encouraging, as it demonstrated an enhanced understanding of the language and how they can express themselves.

Taking this further, we later introduced an “Oracy Phrase of the Week”, designed to help students sound more analytical and academic, such as “one could argue that...” and “if we look at this more closely, it becomes clear that…”.

Students are encouraged to use these in lessons to present arguments and express opinions.

2. Informed seating plans

Another change we made was to use seating plans to ensure that students were not able to simply sit with their same-language peers and, therefore, avoid speaking English within lessons.

Sitting with same-language peers is socially understandable, but pedagogically problematic. In subjects taught in English, the language of instruction must be English, consistently and confidently.

Through informed seating, mixing up home languages, we helped to ensure that English remained the common mode of communication.

This has avoided exclusion, increased participation and created a more equitable learning environment. There were some challenges with changing some habits, but students and parents were on board with this.

3. Consistent modelling and insistence on correct English

It is one thing to ask students to “speak properly” or “use full sentences” when answering a question, but another to build this expectation into the culture of the school.

We made a point of emphasising how teachers and students needed to model the tone, register and structure expected in each context through staff CPD: what is formal and informal speech, the use of idioms and regional accents in our speech and how to address errors with kindness.

We also told teachers to push back on one- or two-word answers and to encourage students to speak in full, grammatically accurate sentences.

While this required persistence, staff began to notice improvements not only in spoken English but also in students’ writing and comprehension.

When a school culture promotes high-quality oracy, modelled by teachers and practised by students, the quality of teaching and learning rises with it.

4. Intervention and mentoring

Another significant development has been our oracy intervention programme.

Our sixth-formers and Year 11 students mentor younger learners once a week during tutor time.

Each session centres on a debate-style question, something topical, provocative or ethical, such as “should we abolish school uniform?” and “should there be time limits on computer games for children?”.

The older students model academic language, structure their arguments and prompt the younger students to rebut or challenge points of view.

This starts with the mentors asking questions about the issue, asking for further ideas to support points of view and challenging these ideas, thereby encouraging mentees to think about the other side of the argument.

The results have been impressive: mentees are speaking more confidently, taking intellectual risks and showing greater awareness of register and audience.

Why oracy matters

Ultimately, oracy is another key way schools can ensure students are properly equipped for an ever-changing world when they leave us.

Recognising the heritage of their mother tongue is vital, but so is ensuring that they are confident and capable of articulating themselves in the language of their education.

All international schools will have a different starting point on an oracy journey, but with it set to become a core pillar of the English national curriculum, it seems the time is right to promote high-quality oracy, led by teachers and practised by students.

Robin Hill is head of MFL and championing oracy and literacy at ELIS Villamartin in Spain